Dhaka: The Bangladesh cricket team has not played Australia a lot in any form of cricket so it is looking with a lot of interest at the first-ever Twenty20 International series between the two teams, hoping for a boost ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh’s head coach Russell Domingo said that it is a great opportunity for him to find out his best combination ahead of the T20 World Cup, to be played in October-November in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to try and win a series against Australia; it will do wonders for our confidence. We also want to try and find our best combination [for the T20 World Cup], and playing against Australia will give us that opportunity,” Domingo told the media ahead of the five T20Is scheduled to be played on August 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
“Bangladesh don’t play against Australia that often, so this is a big series for us and we’re determined to do well in it,” he added.
However, in their quest to win the psychological advantage ahead of the mega event, Bangladesh is not going to prepare rank turners to outfox the Aussies. One reason for this is that they will encounter ‘true pitches’ in the World Cup and playing on turners may prove counter-productive.
Also, besides pacers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood, the Aussies have left-arm spinner Ashton Agar and wrist spinner Adam Zampa in their side and would not mind spinning tracks.
“We want to play on good wickets because that’s what you’re going to be facing when playing World Cups away from home,” Domingo was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
“So, I don’t expect the wicket to be a major factor in the series. I don’t think it’s going to spin that much. It looks like a pretty good surface at the moment and there’s been quite a lot of rain around Dhaka at the moment, so there’s obviously a little bit of moisture in the surface,” said Domingo.
(IANS)